Thursday 5/23 ~ Go ahead. Be angry at God.

The scripture for today, May 23 (5/23), is Exodus 5:23 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Love Letters of Jesus & his Bride, Eccelsia-THUMBNAIL“Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your [God’s] name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

This is Moses talking to God, and Moses is very angry. Is it a good idea to be mad at God? Deuteronomy 34:10 says there was never a prophet like Moses “whom the Lord knew face to face.”

Getting angry [not violent, that’s different] sometimes is part of a healthy relationship, as long as we (1) stick to the facts and not get into a blame game and (2) are willing to stay around long enough to understand the other person’s point of view. Moses did not call God bad names nor did he desert God. He spoke his mind, then waited to see how God would reply.

It wasn’t that God didn’t want to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt. God was not quite through putting Pharaoh in his place. And he probably did not rescue his people in the manner Moses had in mind. But eventually ~ after a little patience on Moses’ part ~ it happened: God rescued his people.

Are you angry at God over something? Tell him so. Then stick around and wait for him to express his point of view. It will happen someday. Maybe it won’t be your point of view. Probably it will be better.

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Tuesday 5/21 ~ The Unimaginable Plan

The scripture for today, May 21 (5/21), is 2nd Corinthians 5:21 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

A lot of people do not understand what Jesus’ death has to do with going to heaven. The key is in Romans 3:23 that says “The wages of sin is death.” In Genesis, 2:17, God told Adam and Eve the moment they disobey him, they will die. When Adam and Eve sinned, immediately their souls died, and the bodies gradually died. That was the wages they collected for sinning.

It’s been happening to everyone since then. Why is God so strict?  He is trying to protect us from Satan. He is like a parent shouting, “Don’t go out into the street!”  So, during Old Testament times, God told people to kill an animal to placate Satan temporarily.  Apparently, it did but not forever.

 Hebrews says the blood of animals cannot truly take away (take the substitute punishment for) sins; they are remembered again every year (Hebrews 10:3-4).

Finally, John the Baptist announced Jesus was “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). This is what Satan really wanted. He had not yet put mankind in hell with him.  He was holding mankind for ransom.  He wanted God to die before he would release mankind from his hold. For 33 years, God’s Word took human form in Jesus and became one of us. Then he died in our place. In so doing, he collected our wages forever.

Jesus did two things impossible for us to do: Live a perfect life without sin, and come back to life after he died ~ both physically and spiritually. Why? So we could do two more things impossible for humans to do on our own: Release ourselves from Satan’s captivity and escape to heaven where we would be permanently safe.

But we have to believe this happened. As long as we do not believe it, even though Satan has opened the gate to release our captives, we must walk through that gate and through the gate of heaven.

It is not about being good enough. No one can do enough good works Satan has no choice to release us and God has no choice but to let us into his home, heaven. It only takes one sin to be a sinner.  God cannot exist with sin.

God begs us to come to him and follow him out of danger and into the safety of his heaven. It is not automatic. If we follow Jesus, God sees us as sinless. Jesus was perfect for us. What a plan ~ the things Jesus had to go through to free us.   What unimaginable love. 

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Tuesday 5/14 ~ You will not be able to stop

The scripture for today, May 14 (5/14), is 2nd Corinthians 5:14a as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-Stephen-Cover-Kindle-Thumbnail“For Christ’s love compels us….”

On a distant hill a very long time ago, something unbelievable happened.

Jesus ~ God materialized ~ died both physically and spiritually in your place! (Remember when he said God had forsaken him?) He knew you couldn’t come back from either kind of death on your own, so he did it for you. Such terrible things he went through for you so you wouldn’t have to and would fail.

Love is powerful! It causes you to do things for someone you love that you never wanted to do and never dreamed you could do.

How powerful is your love for Christ? And for those he was compelled to die for? Do you share his love with others? 1st John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.”

Reach out to people who think Jesus will ruin their fun, or has too many rules, or could never forgive them, or wouldn’t stop a tragedy. If not in person, tell them in a note, a phone call, email, even a song. There are ways.

 Reach out. You can if Christ’s love compels you. You will not be able to stop.

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Thursday 5/9 ~ Freedom is not free

The scripture for today, May 9 (5/9), is Matthew 5:9 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”

Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (Christians are adopted sons) was a peacemaker. He came to earth to help us make peace with God. After all, “all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It only takes one sin to be a sinner. And God cannot dwell with sin. What was the solution?

Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. These wages we earn are from Satan because Satan is the originator of death. In Old Testament times, God told people to kill a perfect animal in their place to pacify Satan who was holding mankind hostage. So, people kept having to do it. The death Satan really wanted was the death of God. He would not release mankind until God paid the terrible ransom price ~ his death.  So, when the time was right, Jesus came to earth and lived that perfect life that is impossible for us to live as the perfect Lamb of God. Then he allowed himself to take our punishment for our (not his) sins and collect the death wage in our place.  

His was the final sacrifice. Our freedom was not free. Jesus had paid the ransom to Satan to set us free. (Then, of course, God tricked him and that body Jesus was in came back to life.) But freedom is not automatic. Satan gets us back unless we believe Jesus did that and follow him. Now we are no longer slaves of Satan. We are adopted and become children of God.

Jesus was a peacemaker between God and man. You, too, can be a peacemaker. You can help people be at peace with themselves. You can help them be at peace with each other. And you can help them be at peace with God. Thereby, you can share in what God’s begotten Son was.

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Wednesday, 5/1 ~ Declared perfect

The scripture for today, May 1 (5/1), is Romans 5:1 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-Titus-Cover-Lg Thumb“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Of course, if we do not have faith in Jesus, we will not obey any of his commands. He said in John 15:14, “You are my friends IF you do what I command.”

How do we become his friends?  By obeying all his commands. But we have all sinned and fallen short God’s perfection (Romans 3:23) and the wages we earn from Satan with our sins is body and soul death (Romans 6:23).

That makes it impossible for us to live in heaven. Only the just ~ the perfect ~ can enter heaven. Otherwise, heaven wouldn’t be heaven. But how do we become perfect when the fact remains that almost daily we sin by actions, attitudes, and good things we leave undone?

Every time we sin, we come in the clutches of Satan, the originator of both body and soul death.  He holds us hostage. So, God came to us in flesh, paid our fine, our bail, and bought us out of the death prison of Satan. He got us out and declared us not guilty ~ perfect. But, it does us no good unless we believe he did that for us. 

What amazing God we have. We can scarcely comprehend it. It stretches our mind, our heart, our soul. Yes, it is a beautiful thing what God did for us so we can have peace with him. That was his part. Our part is to believe it, accept it, and actively follow it.

That, too, is beautiful.

TImage result for "Buy the book" button redITUS: THE ARISTOCRAT was born of privilege. His father was the city magistrate and Titus became a lawyer.  He searched until able to declare his clients not guilty. But his father forever declared Titus guilty for causing Titus’ mother’s death. He carried this with him until he learned about Jesus, the one who would forgive.  To BUY NOW, click a picture or paste this:  https://amzn.to/2vtKu5N

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Tuesday 4/30 ~ Grieving or smiling?

The scripture for today, April 30 (4/30), is Ephesians 4:30f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

00-PAUL COVER-Thumbnail-“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Do you think God has no choice but to let you into his heaven because you do not steal, cheat, or murder? Think again.

There’s more to it than that; it’s called sins of attitude. Are you bitter about something? Let it go or it will take you to hell.  Do you have a problem with rage and anger? Do you enjoy a good mental or physical brawl? Do you slander people who have done you wrong? Do you harbor grudges year after year? Let go of them. Please. They are taking you to hell.

The average person does not have trouble with bad actions. The big problem is with bad attitudes. Let go of them. God will take care of the problems. Let go of people you consider your enemies and wish them well. Do not grieve God. He does not deserve it.

Live in sweet inner peace. Live at peace with God. Make God smile.

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Thursday 4/18 ~ What is unseen is most real

The scripture for today, April 18 (4/18), is 2nd Corinthians 4:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

Was Jesus God-COVER-kindle-thumbnail“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

In a sense, what is unseen is the true reality. We cannot see love, but we see its influence, and it is stronger than anything in the world that we can see. We cannot see God, but we can see his influence, and he is more real than anything in the world that we can see.

Sometimes we all say we wish we could see God and touch God. But if that were the case, he wouldn’t be God, for he couldn’t be everywhere at once. He would only be able to hear the prayer of one person at a time, and only able to answer the prayer of one person at a time. By being unseen by human eyes, God can be everywhere.

It’s a hidden blessing!  Every one of us among the billions of people on earth can feel we are God’s special ones. Every one of us can feel his presence, his soul, his love.

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Tuesday 4/16 ~ Mercy when you need it

The scripture for today, April 16 (4/16), is Hebrews 4:16 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Anyone who has lived very long has committed some sin they hope no one ever finds out about. Some people have committed many such sins. Because of that one “big” sin or the constant repetition of a particular sin, do you punish yourself by putting words in God’s mouth? Do you say, “God could never forgive me for that”? Perhaps you can never forgive yourself, but God is greater than you.

Jesus told Peter we must forgive our brothers 70 times 7. If kept literally, that would mean we’d have to forgive the same sin 490 times. It is figurative for forgiving all the time. 1st Corinthians 13, the “love chapter” of the Bible, says, “Love…keeps no record of wrongs.” Do you hold grudges?

Alexander Pope said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” In addition to forgiving yourself and others, can you reach out to help people who cannot forgive themselves? Are you strong enough to imitate God? Are you strong enough to find enough mercy and grace in your heart to forgive? There, indeed, is divinity in forgiveness.

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Tuesday 4/9 ~ How perplexing

The scripture for today, April 9 (4/9), is 1st John 4:9f as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BK 7-ShadowOfDeath-Cover-new-Thumbnail“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

How perplexing. We are stymied. There is no solution. We humans do not have the will to live perfect lives. We give in to sin. We can never get it right. Romans 6:23 says the wages we earn for sinning is death. In the Old Testament era, God held Satan at bay from us by telling people to kill an animal in their place whenever they sinned. But it had to be done over and over. Still, every time we sinned, our souls died a little more. Then came our rescue our solution. But the cost.  It was so high.  God sent his Son to us for a while with a body so his Son’s body could be killed (collecting our wages, the cost of our sins) in our place.

Finally, God invited mankind to bring our souls back to life through him ~ that is, become Christians. How do we become alive through Jesus? Of course, we know about believing Jesus was the Son of God and repenting of our sins. Also, Romans 6:4 says when we are baptized and come forth out of the Spirit’s watery womb, our souls are born again and we now have a new life.

Still, it does not stop there. We must try the best we can to live as Jesus lived, speak as Jesus spoke, love as Jesus loved. With Jesus living in us, we are his mouth, his hands, his feet. It is then that we offer our own bodies as daily sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

Ah, Lord God.  I want to do this. I truly do. Help me.  Help me.

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Thursday 4/4 ~ A sinless anger?

The scripture for today, April 4 (4/4), is Psalm 4:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Pearls Cover-Palms-300dpi-Thumbnail“In your anger do not sin.”

You’ve gotta be kidding!  That’s impossible! When you get angry, it’s time to lash out at everyone. And yell and call them names. And show our temper? Maybe even throw a few things? After all, that’s the only way to get across to the other person that you are really angry.

Hold on. If, for instance, you told your child not to do something for their own safety but your child did it anyway, of course you would become angry. Why? Your child put himself in danger because of his action.

You can choose to lash out at your child wildly so that your emotions mask your words. Or you can choose to talk calmly and explain the dangers your child was put in because of that action. Maybe punishment is in order. You can calmly but firmly tell them what their punishment is. You can calmly punish your child without losing your temper.

It is the same way with adults. If you lose your temper and shoot daggers with your eyes and rant and rave, all your actions distract people from your words. Aren’t your words of explanation more important than the emotionalism and yelling? If you were hurt, just say so. If they hurt themselves, just say so.

 And with other adults, tell them how you feel, not how they feel; you don’t really know. Tell them what you want, not what they want; you don’t really know.

While we’re at it, not all words help. Name calling does not help. Name calling is done when you choose not to explain how you feel. Name calling such as, “You’re irresponsible,” locks the other person in and sets them up for future failures between you and them. Losing your temper during anger gets you off the issue and into sin.

If I’m angry because it rained, I do not lash out at the rain. I calmly deal with it and go on with my life.

Next time you are angry at a person, try to remain calm and then explain the problem in tones that they can truly listen to and learn from. If you have trouble doing this, practice when you’re alone. It will come to you in the right way. It will teach you to remain calm when you’re angry.

Anger is not the same thing as sin. What you do with it can be. Choose a calm anger.  Thereby, you will have a peace that passes understanding.

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